


Feathers

by kulina



Category: Waterparks (Band)
Genre: Frottage, M/M, Wing Grooming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-07-07 08:08:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15904302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kulina/pseuds/kulina
Summary: In which Awsten was born with pair of thick, beautiful, gray wings. One night on tour, he needs Jawn's help taking care of them. Let's just say the wings are... very sensitive.





	Feathers

“Alright, get some rest,” Geoff murmured from the hotel hallway. “We don’t have anything in the morning, so we can sleep in. It’s already after midnight, though, so get in there.”

Jawn nodded. “Okay. Night.” 

“Night,” Geoff said over his shoulder. “Love you guys.” 

“Love you, too,” Awsten answered absently. He went into the room and dropped his bag on the closest bed, his face screwing up in pain with the movement. 

Jawn looked at him carefully and shut the heavy door. “You good?”

Awsten nodded, but his expression told another story. “Do you, um. Do you care if I, like. Stretch them out?” 

“Of course not," Jawn replied as he headed to set his duffle on the other mattress. "Whatever you need.” 

Awsten nodded. “Thanks.” 

“You want me to…?” Jawn trailed off, pointing to the bathroom.

“No, I’ll just be a second. It’s okay. You don’t have to.” 

“Alright,” Jawn nodded. He unzipped his bag and started digging through it for his pajama pants. He tried not to pay attention to Awsten peeling his shirt off.

“Okay, watch out,” Awsten muttered, moving to stand between the two beds. “I don’t think I’m gonna be able to control them.” He tugged his binder off, and two gorgeous gray wings unfurled, easily filling ten feet in length. He groaned in pain, and Jawn couldn’t help but look over. 

“Awsten, oh my god,” Jawn breathed. Awsten had been crabby all day, and now it made perfect sense. 

“I know,” Awsten replied softly. 

“No, you’re – you’re bleeding.” 

“I am?” he asked. God, he sounded exhausted. 

“Yeah. Did you not know?”

“No, but… it hurts, man. They’re so sore. They’re so…” He beat them gently, once, twice, a third time. He took a deep breath, trying to combat the pain. Several feathers floated to the carpet. 

“Awsten, we need to get Geoff,” Jawn said anxiously. 

Clearly, the past five days on cramped airplanes and nights on the tightly packed tour bus hadn’t treated the singer well. The tops of his bones were starting to flake off from the lack of feathers to buffer them from the binder, and there was dried, black blood caked in all throughout the wings.

“No,” Awsten protested quickly, “I told him it was fine. I don’t want him to get worried again.” 

“Yeah, but… dude, this is scary. I’ve never seen them like this.” 

“I’m fine.” 

“Awsten-”

“I said  _no_.” The sharp words hung in the air, and Awsten’s heavy wings drooped in regret almost instantly. He winced from the ache. “Sorry,” he muttered. 

“No, it’s alright; I get it,” Jawn told him. He brushed hands nervously over the sides of his jeans. “What can I do?” 

Awsten shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Well, what would Geoff do?” 

“It’s not-” Awsten huffed. “It’s not something just anybody can fix. You know that.” 

Jawn dropped his voice. “We’re best friends.” 

Still, Awsten shook his head again. “It doesn’t work like that. It’s private.” 

“I’m practically your brother,” he said softly, “and you’re bleeding. Awsten, I can see your bones. I'm not just gonna leave you like this. Let me help you.” 

Awsten swallowed and looked up at him. “You sure?” 

Jawn nodded firmly. “Yeah.” 

“I might react,” Awsten admitted.

“I don’t care.”

Awsten looked at him for a long moment. And then - “Okay.” The wings drew to his sides, and he pulled them in as close to his body as he could, squeezing his eyes shut at the soreness. He walked over to his bed and pulled out a roll of gauze and a small, unmarked container that looked like it would contain a skin cream. Once he’d handed them both to Jawn, he went back to stand between the beds. The gray wings spread wide, the way they’d been before. Feathers fell to the floor like rain. Awsten ignored them.

“Do I just-?” Jawn started, but Awsten was ready with instructions.

“Get a lot of the stuff on your fingers. Like, a lot. More than you think. And then put it at the top.” 

“The part where I can see your bones?” Jawn asked incredulously.

“Yeah.” 

“Isn’t that gonna hurt?”

Awsten’s feathers ruffled anxiously. “It’ll be fine.” 

“Okay.” Jawn knew he had to do it. Still, he was hesitant. He didn’t want to make Awsten’s pain worse. “Tell me if you want me to stop.”

Awsten nodded. 

Jawn scooped a generous amount of the white substance onto his fingers. It was thinner than he expected, more like yogurt than thick lotion. He took care to be extra gentle, but he could tell that his efforts fell short. Awsten was subconsciously pulling away from him. 

Jawn could feel the hard, worn bones right under his own skin. It was so odd, touching his friend like this, but he welcomed it. Awsten, on the other hand, was having a much harder time with it.

“It’s okay,” Jawn murmured, trying now to be both kind and quick. “Halfway.” 

“Only half?” Awsten echoed frantically. He sounded almost short of breath. “Can we take a break?”

Jawn immediately retracted his hand. “Of course.” 

Awsten took a moment to himself before turning sideways and going wings-first through the bathroom door to examine Jawn’s work in the mirror. 

“Did I do it right?” Jawn inquired worriedly.

He studied it for a few seconds. “Yeah, it’s perfect, Jawn. Thanks. It’ll start healing itself overnight.” He walked back out between the beds and held his other wing out. “Okay.” 

Jawn raised his eyebrows. “That was fast.”

Awsten shrugged his human shoulders glumly. “Wanna get it over with.”

“Alright.” 

Now that he knew what he was supposed to do, Jawn was a little more confident. He went faster, patting the stuff onto Awsten’s tender bones and talking to distract him from the searing pain. “What do you think the maids are gonna think about all these feathers, huh?” he teased. “It looks like a couple giant pigeons exploded in here.”

Awsten snorted. “Shut up.” But the amiable moment was over quickly; he inhaled sharply as Jawn covered his bleeding joint with the cream. “Ow, OW! Jawn, stop. _Stop_ ,” he hissed desperately, reaching back to grab Jawn’s hand out of the air. 

“I’m sorry,” Jawn whispered. His eyebrows creased in fear. “Awsten, I really think I should go get Geoff.” 

“No, no, I’m okay,” Awsten lied. “Keep going. I’m okay.” 

“Awsten…” 

“Almost done, right?” Awsten reminded, forcing a weak smile. “Just. Can you do the last part so we can go to bed?”

“If you’re sure,” Jawn murmured.

“Go fast,” Awsten pleaded.

“I will.” And he did. The worst of it had already been over, but he understood why Awsten had needed to take another break. Jawn couldn’t imagine how much pain he must have been in.

Finally, _finally_ , it was over. 

Awsten breathed a sigh of relief and let his wings droop by his sides. “Thank you,” he said softly.

“I’m sorry it hurt you,” Jawn apologized, twisting the cap back onto the container and handing it back to Awsten. He reached for the gauze.

“No, it’s okay. It would have been way worse if I’d waited til the morning. Thanks.”

Jawn carefully laid the bandages over the cream as best he could and then passed the excess back to Awsten. “Does that feel right?” he questioned. 

“Yeah, it’s perfect,” he repeated. “Thank you so much.” 

“Stop saying thank you,” Jawn told him, reaching up with his clean hand to lightly punch Awsten’s arm.

Awsten gave a tired smile.

Jawn went to wash his fingers off and then headed to put the pajama pants on, but Awsten was still standing there watching him. 

“What?”

“Um. Can you…?”

Jawn tilted his head in confusion.

Awsten lightly flared his wings, and three more feathers cascaded to the floor. “Can you help me pull them out? I can’t really reach.” He shook his head. “I feel so stupid asking you this.” 

“No, it’s okay. I’ve kind of… always wanted to do this.”

It was Awsten’s turn to be confused. “You have?” 

Jawn nodded. “One time when we were in high school and I was spending the night at your house, I saw you messing with them. You’d told me about them, but it was the first time I saw them. I was so curious about them,” he confessed, his cheeks turning slightly red. “No one else I know has wings. And taking care of them looked… special.” 

Awsten shrugged. “It’s _really_ not that great.”

“I think it’s beautiful,” Jawn told him reverently.

Awsten rolled his eyes. “Okay, weirdo, then come help me. But this is, um. This is why I didn’t want to involve you. This is the part I might react to.”

“Me pulling the feathers out?” 

Awsten nodded. 

“Does it hurt?”

“No, it’s.” He cleared his throat awkwardly. “I read that it’s, like, a partner thing. It’s considered really intimate.”

Jawn almost laughed, but one look at Awsten’s face told him that he was serious. “Oh.”

“It’s okay if you don’t want to,” Awsten rushed. “I totally understand.”

“No, I- I want to.”

“Okay.” A beat passed, and then Awsten sat down on the edge of Jawn’s hotel bed and wrapped his arms nervously around himself.

Jawn climbed onto the mattress behind him and settled on his knees. “Do I just… tug on them?” 

Awsten laughed then, breaking the tension in the room. “No. Um, take your hand like this…” He looked over his shoulder and demonstrated, rounding his fingers into a shape as if he were holding a grapefruit. “Like you’re gonna play the piano. And then just, like, run it through. That way, the ones that need to fall out will, and the other ones will stay. But just be-”

Jawn went for it without telling him, and Awsten immediately yelped. His wings drew up around himself in embarrassment. 

“Oh, sorry!” 

Awsten relaxed a little, cheeks pink but forcing his wings to unfurl again. “I was gonna say just be _gentle_ ,” he emphasized. “They’re really sensitive.” 

“Got it.” 

The feathers were oily under Jawn’s fingers, slick. Awsten shivered as he touched them.

Four fell out on the first stroke. 

“Do every spot a couple times to make sure you get them all,” Awsten instructed quietly.

The air conditioner kicked on, and the boys were silent as Jawn worked.

“It’s kinda like brushing hair,” Jawn commented after a moment. 

“Yeah,” Awsten tried to say, but it came out more like a groan. 

Jawn chuckled. “You okay?”

“Feels so good,” Awsten muttered. “Keep going.”

Jawn stroked the feathers like Awsten had showed him, careful but firm. He was a little worried about how many were falling out, but Awsten didn’t seem to be. Although, Awsten was also losing control of his body. 

“Hey,” Jawn murmured as Awsten leaned backwards into him.

“Don’t stop,” Awsten instructed breathlessly.

Jawn playfully drew his fingers through Awsten’s wing in a tender zigzag, and Awsten cried out. “So good,” he sighed again. 

Jawn had never felt so powerful. This was his chance – he’d caused his friend so much pain, but now he could make up for it. He started to comb both hands through the feathers at the same time, and Awsten began to shake. 

“Jawn,” he moaned. “Jawn, oh my god.” 

“Shh,” Jawn murmured, nuzzling into his temple and pressing a kiss to his hair. “It’s okay, Awsten. It’s okay.”

“Ohhhh… god.”

“Almost done.” 

“No… Please, no…” 

“You want me to keep going?” Jawn asked.

“Yeah,” Awsten exhaled shamelessly. 

But Jawn stopped.

Awsten turned around and looked at him, disappointed.

“Kiss me,” Jawn said suddenly. The words tumbled out naturally, and before he had time to regret them, Awsten was moving forward and kissing him square on the lips. 

Awsten pulled back after a moment, pupils blown wide. “Keep going,” he begged. His mouth found Jawn again, laying hot, wet, open-mouthed kisses on his jaw and down the side of his neck.

Jawn gasped, but he kept tracing through Awsten’s loose feathers. 

“Don’t stop, J, don’t stop,” Awsten pleaded, the old nickname spilling easily onto the spot he was sucking on Jawn’s shoulder. “I'm- don’t stop.”

“You’re what?” 

Awsten climbed forward so all of his weight was on Jawn’s lap. He started rubbing his hips against his best friend’s. “I’m gonna come,” he whispered.

“Awsten, oh my god,” Jawn breathed.

“Don’t stop, don’t stop,” he implored. Every touch was like heaven. Every brush of feathers under Jawn's fingers sent a rush all through his body. He keened. “Oh, I’m gonna come. Jawn, I’m gonna come, I’m gonna come. I’m gonna-” 

With a long breath and quivering feathers, Awsten’s body found its release. He allowed himself to collapse down onto Jawn’s shoulder as the sensation radiated through him, his wings gracefully sinking down to his sides.

Jawn rubbed Awsten’s back under the feathers and tried to ignore his own erection. “You okay?” he murmured once Awsten had stilled.

“I’m great,” Awsten whispered honestly. His heartbeat pounded in his ears. “Thank you, Jawn.”

They stayed like that for a warm, peaceful moment. Jawn had just shut his eyes when Awsten awkwardly sat up. 

“Um,” he said, running a hand through his own hair, “I should probably go clean up.”

Jawn nodded. “Yeah.”

Awsten silently climbed off Jawn’s lap and disappeared into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him, and Jawn crashed back onto his bed. That was definitely not how he saw his night going, but he wouldn’t say he regretted it, either. It was incredible to see Awsten fall apart like that under his fingertips. Literally.

Ten minutes later found the pair in their separate beds with the light off.

“Jawn,” Awsten muttered into the darkness.

“Mm,” Jawn responded. “What?”

“I have to tell you something.”

Jawn’s stomach twisted. He hated that sentence. “Okay.”

“That thing we did… with my feathers…”

“Yeah.” 

“Nobody’s ever done that with me before.” 

Jawn couldn’t help but notice Awsten’s choice of words. ‘We did’ and ‘with me.’ Jawn kind of thought he was doing it  _to_  Awsten. 

“I thought Geoff helped you,” Jawn countered. 

“Yeah, but not… not like that. That’s… Look, what me and you did, um. That’s kind of like a mating thing.” 

Jawn raised his eyebrows. “‘Kind of like a mating thing’?” he repeated. 

“Okay, it’s definitely a mating thing,” Awsten admitted. “It's what mates do when they claim each other." He shook his head. "I’m sorry; I should have told you.”

“Yeah, you should have,” Jawn agreed, “but I don’t regret it.” 

He could hear Awsten turn over in bed to face him, even though the hotel room was pitch black. “You don’t? You’re not, like, mad at me?” 

Jawn scoffed quietly. “No, I’m not mad at you.” 

Awsten didn’t speak for a few seconds. Then, “Okay.”

“Okay,” Jawn echoed. 

An hour passed. Awsten had been fast asleep for quite a while, breathing lightly, but Jawn was still wide awake. He couldn’t stop thinking about Awsten’s breathy moans, the way Awsten had trembled in his lap, the look on his face, the frantic roll of his hips, the way he kept begging Jawn not to stop. So desperate. So beautiful. 

And for Awsten to think that he had taken advantage… Jawn thought  _he_  had taken advantage. God, that was actually kind of messed up. They'd need to talk about it sooner or later. And besides, Jawn had questions. Were there other people with wings? Were he and Awsten mated now? What did that even mean, ‘mated’? Jawn had no idea how all this bird stuff - or angel stuff; whatever it was - worked.

He sat up in bed and shoved his covers off. As quietly as he could, he tiptoed between his bed and Awsten’s and climbed in next to his best friend. Awsten’s gentle breath tickled Jawn’s nose, but Jawn wouldn’t have it any other way. And when Jawn pressed closer to him and Awsten’s wing wrapped protectively around him, Jawn kissed him on the cheek and smiled sleepily.

They both slept better than they had in weeks.


End file.
